


Looking to Attract a Roommate

by AkemiKae



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn, all the characters are in it, also Yosuke is a sad child that just needs love, but it's mostly just Yosuke and Yu being fluffy little beans, he's a ball of anxiety, lots and lots of fluff, roommate au, they're cute and in their early twenties
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2018-11-05 12:17:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11013258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkemiKae/pseuds/AkemiKae
Summary: Yosuke hates complicated things. So when his friend and roommate Chie decides to bail on him, he wasn't very pleased about it. Now he has to go out of his way to find a new person to take her place. How was he supposed to deal with that when meeting new people scared the living hell out of him?





	1. Suffocating

It was irritating really. Suddenly having to go out of his way to print off a bunch of stupid papers he shouldn’t even need. He had been sitting at his kitchen table for at least twenty minutes, cutting the bottoms of each paper, to separate the repeating phone number. Perhaps he had printed too many of them.

A loud groan escaped Yosuke as he leaned back in his chair to stretch his arms, fingers clasping his hands together to emphasize the movement. The front legs of his chair left the floor, as he continued to lean further back. His knees met the bottom of the table, the thing preventing him from falling over completely. Cracks similar to that of popcorn could be heard from his back and neck as he stretched his limbs to their limit.

Kicking his left foot in a downward motion, he flung himself forward, chair firmly planting itself on the ground with a loud thud. Another groan left him, as he glared at the scattered pile of fliers.

“This is bullshit!”

Fumbling hands compiled all of the papers into one sloppy heap of a pile as he quickly shoved them into a messenger bag, grumbling in the process. He ruffled his hair in an irate fashion then leapt off the chair, swooping the strap of his bag onto his shoulder in one fluid motion. The floor boards creaked loudly in protest as Yosuke marched toward the apartment door, slamming it behind him.

The outside air was a bit chilly, causing him to shiver in response, his hair standing on end. For a brief moment, he considered grabbing a jacket, but figured he wouldn’t be in the cold long enough for it to matter.

Once he made it inside his small car, the heater was set to it’s highest, compensating for the low temperatures. Tossing his bag in the passenger seat, he let out a small huff of annoyance before proceeding to back out of the parking stall.

______________________________________________________________________________

Yosuke was suddenly grateful he hadn’t decided to wear a jacket, as the room he was in felt like it was on fire. He grasped his dark v-neck and pulled it away from his collar as he stared down at the disheveled pile of papers he left in front of him. They felt as if they were glaring back at him somehow- damn smug pieces of dead trees. A sigh left his body again, for what must have been the thousandth time that evening, as he thought about the aggravating conversation he had a few nights before.

______________________________________________________________________________

  
“You have got to be kidding me, dude.”

The response resulted in a hard kick to Yosuke’s shin, a loud hiss of pain escaping him from the assault. “Ouch! Dude, seriously?” He leaned down to inspect the injury.

Chie puffed her cheeks and pulled her arms close into her chest. “Oh shut up, just let me finish what I was saying,” Releasing her arms, she proceeded to place her hands on her hips, face turning serious. “It’s not like I was trying to abandon you or anything you know.”

Yosuke leaned against the kitchen counter, losing interest in the minor damage she had left on him. He ran a quick hand through his hair to swoop his messy bangs out of his face, only to have them slide righ back in place, tickling his cheeks. “Yeah, whatever. Doesn’t change the fact that I can’t afford rent on my own here.”

The shorter girl retracted a little at what he said, guilt creeping up her spine. “Can’t you just get another roommate? Don’t tell me you’re that low on friends.” She chuckled.

His face contorted in offense, and he scoffed, voice cracking a little. “Wha-I, of course. Of course I have more friends,” He paused. “just not anyone that isn’t already living somewhere.”

Chie joined Yosuke in leaning against the counter and hummed in thought. Her fingers thrummed against a cabinet before she spoke. “Well, can’t you just ask the landlord if there are any smaller apartments available for lower rent?” She smiled over at Yosuke for a second, only to have it faulter as she took note of his furrowed brows.

He sighed, leaning his head down to stare at the cheap kitchen flooring. His head was starting to pound. “No. That only changes rent by like, a whole fifty dollars. I’ve checked.”

An awkward silence loomed over the two. Chie fiddled with the jacket clinging to her waist, staring tensely at the wall in front of her, eyeing a crack invading the tiling. She desperately wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to break the silence.

Yosuke pushed himself violently off the counter, twisting to stare Chie in the face. He then proceeded to slap his hand against his face, breaking the silence, and sliding it to the bottom of his chin. The sound was abrupt enough that it caused Chie to jump.

“Look,” Yosuke quietly spoke “I understand that Yukiko wants to try to fend for herself, and you offered to help her, but seriously?” He grasped his face with his hand again, squeezing the bridge of his nose in frustration. “A little more notice would have been nice, and now I don’t know what I’m going to do about this lease.”

Chie looked up at him, a strange expression on her face. “...I’m sorry.”

Yosuke laughed, with no sign of amusement. “Yeah, I get it.” He turned away from her to step out of the kitchen. “I mean, I actually get it. It’s...” His expression turned dark, “Fine. You probably just got sick of dealing with me.” A huff of air passed his lips. “I get it.”

“Yosuke, what the hell?” Chie walked to stand behind him, holding a hand out to touch him, then quickly pulling away. “That’s not it.” She clenched her hands into a fist, glaring at her feet. “Why do you always do that?”

Yosuke sneered. “Do what? Tell the truth?” He stormed toward the couch and slumped hard onto the old cushion. His brain was fuzzy, filling with all sorts of negative thoughts seemingly out of no where. A hand went in the air, attempting to swat the thoughts away in a frantic movement. He let out a long shaky breath.

Soft footsteps hit the ground as Chie followed Yosuke toward the couch. She remained standing near the arm, silent.

“Ugh,” Yosuke swallowed passed a lump in his throat, taking a deep breath. “Just ignore what I said. I don’t know, man.”

Fingers nervously tugging at her sleeve, Chie stared at the side of Yosuke’s face, unsure of what to say. She wasn’t very good at being serious with people, and her lack of good input was starting to bite her in the ass. “You’re not the reason I’m leaving, Yosuke.” A pause. “I mean, sure, you’re super annoying sometimes-okay, most the time-but it’s kind of, um...” She looked away from him, awkwardly. “It’s kind of just how it’s been with you. It’s not bad, though. It’d be weird if you didn’t annoy me, to be honest. So...uh,” Another pause. “Can we stop having this weird heart to heart thing? It’s creeping me out.”

A small laugh left Yosuke. Listening to Chie attempt to console him was funny. “Oh man, you’re terrible at making people feel better.” He leaned over, laughing a little more heartily.

Chie looked over at Yosuke, giving him a sheepish smile.

“I think I can figure out the apartment.”

Large brown eyes connected with Yosuke’s. “What?” Chie leaned against the arm of the couch, hand bracing her chest in a dramatic fashion. “What made you suddenly come to that conclusion?”

Yosuke rose a brow at her, accusingly. “I wasn’t exactly given much choice.” He smiled up at her, trying to reassure her that he wasn’t mad anymore. “I’ll figure it out.”

______________________________________________________________________________

A loud insistant beep brought Yosuke back to the present, his heart pounding a little from the startle. His hands had balled into fists unknowingly, destroying the flier in hand. Figuring it was ruined now, he crumpled it moreso, tossing it toward the trash bin a few feet away, only to miss it entirely. Huffing loudly, he shook his head at the lack of accuracy he had, walking over to place it nicely in the trash.

His nostrils filled with a mix of chemical smell and filth as he proceeded to lean against an unused washing machine. The air felt muffled and suffocating around him, causing him to breath heavily. A trickle of sweat ran down his neck.

He was the only resident in the facility at the moment, though a few machines were running alone without supervision. Yosuke felt strangely out of place, as he had no real business there, aside from needing to use the community cork board. His hands fiddled with the bottom of his warn shirt as he stared at a swirling washer in front of him, focusing on the flurry of colors.

All Yosuke had to do was place a few pieces of paper on the wall, then he was free to leave. However, his stubborn brain wasn’t listening to logic. Instead, he found himself fretting, sweating, and breathing heavily alone in a stuffy laundromat at eleven o’clock at night. He almost wished someone were there, because it would probably force him to actually do what he came for.

A foot made contact with the machine behind, as he threw himself away from it. Damned if he were to stay there all night, letting his stupid brain scream at him. He was going to plaster the fliers all over the cork board, even if it left a bad impression, then leave the smothering place.

Returning to the mess of papers he had left on the folding table, he growled under his breath and aggressively smacked one of them against the cork board. His eyes darted all over the place searching for a thumb tack, irrated to discover there were none. The paper fell out of his hand, landing lightly back on to the table.

Slowly curling down to the floor, he grasped his knees. He stared underneath the table, huddling in a lose fetal position. His eyes were burning as tears began to form in the edges of them, sloppily brushing them away with his fingers. “Damn it.”

A small jingle forced Yosuke to jolt up, slamming his head hard on the bottom of the table above him. “Jesus Christ! That hurt!” Tears actually slid down his cheeks at that point, from the sheer amount of pain he suddenly found himself in. His hands were clutching his hair so tightly, that his knuckles were paling, head starting to pound profusely.

“Is someone else in here?”

Yosuke’s heart leapt into his throat, as he heard a stranger calling out in the open. He freed one of his hands from his hair to grip the table, yanking himself up from the ground. The movement caused his head to spin. “Uh, hello.”

Footsteps echoed throughout the facility, and Yosuke assumed the new presence was making their way toward him. He slid his hand through his hair quickly, attempting to clean it up from the incident a few seconds before. It didn’t do much good, as his auburn hair flung itself free as soon as his hand left his head. Sighing in defeat, Yosuke rubbed his fingers over his cheeks to rid them of any sign of tears before, his free hand gripping the table behind him for support.

A few tense moments passed before Yosuke allowed his vision to clear up and view the person now just a few feet away from him. Odd silver hair caught his eyes before Yosuke spoke up. “Um, do you need this table or something?”

The stranger shuffled his feet a little, a tiny smile finding his lips. “Are you alright?”

“Huh, what?” Yosuke stumbled out, confused at the sudden question.

The young man standing in front of him was skinny and slightly shorter than Yosuke, sporting a simple white button up shirt, and slick gray slacks. He was well put together, aside from the odd styling of hair the man was wearing. It almost covered the top half of his eyes completely , and his bangs were sloppily placed across his forehead, ruining the otherwise very clean look he had overall.

The strange guy stared intensely at Yosuke for a moment, studying his slightly rosy cheeks and glossed over eyes. “It seemed as if you hurt yourself a moment ago.”

Yosuke blinked a few times in response. “Oh, uh, a little.” He met the stranger's eyes for a second before looking awkwardly to his side, eyeing the crumpled paper he put in the trash a few minutes ago. “Don’t know how, but I somehow slammed my head into this table.” A small laugh left his chest. “I’m very clumsy.”

“How’d you manage that?”

“I don’t know. Just did somehow.” Yosuke shrugged, and turned around swiftly. The stranger was being awfully chatty, and Yosuke wasn’t particularly in a good mood. His hands hovered over paper, intent on simply gathering them up and trying again another day. He desperately wanted to go home.

“What are those?”

Yosuke flung a few papers into the air at the sudden voice, screaching elegantly as he did so. He could hear the man behind him laughing at his antics. That caused Yosuke’s face to flush violently as he frantically fumbled to grab the loose papers.

The back of his neck was burning, as he could feel eyes boring a hole into him. His shoulders hunched over, beginning to feel incredibly uncomfortable. Couldn’t this guy just leave him alone?

Shoving his fliers aggressively into his bag, Yosuke turned around briskly, eyes closed ignoring the guy next to him. His feet pounded against the warn out tile as he practically ran toward the exit, flinging the door open harshly. He shouted in objection as the freezing air assaulted him, goosebumps instantly forming on his skin.

Slamming his car door , he tossed his bag aside, and slammed his forehead into the steering wheel. Eyes closed, he took a long, deep breath. He found himself suddenly exhausted after trying to post his stupid roommate wanted fliers. It was typical that after all of that work he put into it, that it was for nothing. Silently cursing the laundromat for having no thumb tacks, he leaned back, shoved his key into the ignition, and revved up his car.

As he was about to back his car out, he heard a loud thud, jumping viciously at the intruding sound. He flung his vision over to his car window, hair swinging with the movement. One of his fliers was plastered against his window, and he rose a confused brow at it, before rolling down his window.

The silver haired stranger stood in front him, shivering fiercely as he held out the flier toward Yosuke’s face. “I know you didn’t end up posting these, but does this offer still stand?”

Yosuke’s chest got tight at the question, and a chill ran up his spine as the offending air crept into his warm car. He stuttered out a response. “Oh, y-yup. I mean, yes. Yeah.” _Smooth one Yosuke. How many different versions of yes do you really need?_ He found himself anxiously critisizing his own speach patterns, cheeks flushing a little.

The other guy simply chuckled in response. “Now, do I have to call you for the details, or can we just make this quick at a nearby diner or something while we’re both free?”

“What?” Yosuke spit out, surprised at how direct this man was. “I, um, I mean, it’s kind of late, but if you want to we can...uh,” He found himself suddenly distracted by the man in front of him, who was letting out a low gutteral laugh at Yosuke’s demise. “There’s a twenty-four hour diner about a block from here. If,” Pausing to take in the expression of the stranger’s face for a second, which had changed from slightly amused to extremely amused, Yosuke continued. “If you want to.”

“Okay then. Shall we?” The odd man began walking around Yosuke’s car, and prompted him to open the passenger side door by tapping on the window. Yosuke nervously fumbled for the lock mechanism on his door panel, then found himself staring at his gear shift.

A sudden slam of the door caused Yosuke to spring his eyes upward, making contact with silver ones, before he quickly looked back to his dashboard.

“Man, you sure are fast to jump into a strangers car.”

“Well, you unlocked the door for one.”

_Touchè._

Yosuke took in a shaky breath, hands white knuckling the steering wheel as he peered from the corner of his eyes at the stranger who was making himself comfortable in his car.

  
All Yosuke had to do was place a few pieces of paper on the corkboard, then he would have been free to leave. But now there was a stranger sitting in his passenger seat, insisting to go to a diner at eleven o’clock at night.

“So,” The unfamiliar voice chimed. “What’s the likelyhood of this diner having a decent cup of coffee?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, okay, it's been a few years since I've written a fanfic in general. So I apologize if this isn't super well done. It's seriously been a while. About four or so years. I love these two so much though! So I had to take the time to start writing something for them, and boy do I love AU's. They're my favorite freaking thing.
> 
> I may not be super fast at updating, as for the most part, I work on a webcomic in my spare time. But I will try and update somewhat consistently! I have no idea how long this will be, but expect at least a few chapters.
> 
> My friend is a lovely person, and helped me edit this! I would tag her on here, but she can't seem to recall her AO3 account at the moment. Haha. Just figured I'd mention how thankful I was, either way.
> 
> I love my slow burns.


	2. Bleeding

Bright green and orange wall paper was plastered all throughout the run down building, a strange assortment of photos breaking up the terrible color choice. The biggest section of the diner bustled with patrons and pleasant conversation; A stark contrast to the two sitting silently in a corner booth. 

A strong aroma of cheap coffee filled Yosuke’s nostrils as he stared down to his knees. He sat across from another young man, who was mindlessly twisting a worn mug in his hand, watching intently at the hot liquid inside of it. They had been there for about fifteen minutes, only to have spoken to a waitress since leaving the car. 

Yosuke’s fingers tapped harshly on his leg, regret beginning to seap into his body. Intimate interactions with strangers was foreign to him. He kept the same small group of friends with him since high school, and never had the need or want to make any new acquaintance. Sitting across a booth with a complete stranger was not exactly in his repertoire. 

He had to remind himself that he was technically there on business. This meeting was simply to see if the strange man in front of him could be of roommate material. 

A splash of silver caught Yosuke’s eye as he decided to stop flirting with his legs. 

“Strange hair.”

The owner of the strange locks stared at him, mouth slightly agape in an exaggerated fashion. “Excuse me?” His voice full of laughter. 

Of course, Yosuke didn’t sense the humor. “Oh my God! Did-Did I say that out loud?” He ducked his head behind his hand, face going red, as he continued to sputter under his breath. 

“You did.” Nodding the other man took a sip of his coffee, face contorting slightly at the taste. “You also lied to me.” 

Yosuke placed his shielding hand solidly on the table, raising his brows at the accusation. He wasn’t sure what to reply to first, so he attempted to skirt around the assault on the other guy’s hair. “What? I lied to you about something already? Man, we barely even know each other, and yet, here I am, lying.” He shrugged his shoulders in a circular motion, brushing his hair a little bit. “Uh, what exactly did I lie about?”

Letting out a small laugh, the stranger responded. “The coffee.” He gently pushed it toward Yosuke. “It sucks.” 

Taking note of the coffee mug making its way toward him, Yosuke let out a small snort of amusement , a sense of relief finding him. “O-oh. That. Did I say it was good? I don’t know. I’ve never been here before.” He smiled half-heartedly, a pit forming in his stomach. 

The guy in front of him smacked the table lightly, as he held in a snicker. “You’re a very strange guy.”

Yosuke found his small smile grow bright and genuine as he watched the stranger enjoy himself. Even if it was a hit to Yosuke’s ego, he had to admit it was contagious. “You’re not so normal yourself, uh-” 

Shit what’s this guy’s name? 

“Yu Narukami.” The man in question filled in as Yosuke hesitated. 

It took a few seconds for Yosuke’s brain to process that the other guy had even spoken. Was this guy a mind reader? He shook his head to wipe away the ludicrous thought, and proceeded to introduce himself. “Um, Yosuke Hanamura.”

The man now known as Yu, grinned widely, a breath of air heaving in amusement before he spoke. “Yeah, it was written on your flier.” A slim hand held up the aforementioned flier, tapping it lightly with a finger. 

Yosuke threaded a bumbling hand through his hair. “Oh yeah, uh-” He stuttered clumsily. 

Yu placed the paper onto the bench, then spoke in a somewhat small voice. “It’s nice to have you formally say it, though. I actually had to hold myself back from calling you by name. I didn’t want to creep you out.”

Yosuke would have taken the act of courtesy to heart if Yu hadn’t already done a fine job of being incredibly creepy throughout most of the evening. Yosuke decided telling him that would probably not be the best way to make nice though, a simple ‘yeah’ being the only response he could muster.

“So,” Yu began. “What kind of place is it?” 

Auburn hair got tugged roughly as Yosuke fiddled with his messy bangs. “What kind of place is what, now?” He intelligently questioned, staring at Yu in anticipation.

Eyes narrowed into slits, as Yu leaned over the table to view Yosuke at a closer proximity, his arm nearly knocking the coffee over. Yosuke shrunk into the booth as he witnessed the smaller man leaning toward him, reason’s unknown. 

His pulse raced and his hands balled into tight fists as Yosuke found himself glaring at unusual silver hair again. Opening his mouth to speak, Yosuke found himself abruptly cut off before he could even begin. 

“You really are weird, Yosuke.” 

A giant lump crept into Yosuke’s chest as he heard his name. “Says the guy sprawling himself across a dirty diner table.” He smiled crookedly, making eye contact with Yu’s for a second before flicking his gaze to his own hands. 

“But no,” Yosuke added, stubbornly holding his view on his hands. “Seriously, I almost forgot that we were here to talk about my apartment.” 

Yu stared at Yosuke’s forehead, trying to catch a glimpse of his eyes, before briskly slinking into his side of the booth again. “What did you think we were here for?” He folded his arms, eyes closed, a small smirk on his lips. 

“Oh, uh,” Fingers clasped to each other on Yosuke’s lap as he fidgeted. “Well, I was kinda not really here for a moment.” Distraught eyes darted around the diner as breath hitched in his throat. “Never mind that, though. Uh, let’s talk about the important shi-” A short pause. “Stuff.”

Air found its way back into Yosuke’s lungs as he heard Yu urge him to talk about the apartment. 

The waitress had made her way back to their table, as they spoke about the boring details being roommates implied. Yu took this moment to replace his unappealing coffee with the hot chocolate that the waitress kept going on about. 

Yosuke had spaced out the encounter, so he was shocked to see a mug placed in front of him a few minutes later. He jolted up to check if it had been placed in front of him by accident, only to see that Yu had received one as well. Eyes connecting with Yu’s for a brief second, Yosuke firmly placed his hands flat on the table and stared at the whipped cream in the oversized mug before him. 

Yu tilted his head to the side, bangs softly slithering across his forehead, he lifted a mug to his lips as he spoke. “Drink up. It’s yours.” 

“Really?” Yosuke blurted in a near shout, voice shaking with nerves. “You didn’t have to do that man.” 

Taking a small sip, Yu placed the sugary drink down swiftly, having burnt his tongue slightly. “It’s fine.” A small shrug rolled into his slim shoulders. 

Yosuke found himself smiling despite himself, and took a big swig of the drink. He wailed and practically threw the mug to the table in response to the insane anguish his mouth was suddenly in. “Freaking hell that was stupid of me.” His hands flailed at his face, attempting to distract himself from the pain. 

Yu snorted. “You hurt yourself a lot.” 

Entire body curling into himself, Yosuke’s face went hotter than his mouth felt. “I said I was clumsy. You don’t need to rub it in, dude.” His hands fumbled for his glass of water as he began to down it in one go, head falling back dramatically. 

Slamming the glass onto the table, Yosuke took a giant inhale of air, mouth slightly less antagonized thanks to the cold water. He looked over at Yu, who had resumed slowly drinking his hot chocolate, as if to mock Yosuke’s misery. He found himself staring at Yu’s hand grasping the mug. 

Gracefully placing his drink down, Yu met Yosuke’s stare, bright brown eyes darted away in reply. 

“Okay,” Yosuke stumbled out, in attempt to bring back conversation that didn’t involve his humiliation. “So, in the end, would you be okay living with a clumsy, babbling idiot?” 

A light huff of air left soft lips as Yu began to respond. “I’ve survived the evening this far, and you’ve already given yourself a head injury and burnt your tongue. I think, if this is an average affair with you, I will survive.” 

Yosuke flinched at Yu’s magical ability to rub salt in wounds. “I hate to inform you dude, but an average day with me is much worse. You’ve only seen part of it. You’ll probably have to help me out of a trash can at some point.” He crunched his eyebrows together, and ruffled his dyed hair. “I...don’t really know why I bring it up as if it’s a bragging right.” Yosuke chuckled at himself.

“It almost sounds as if you’ve had experience with being stuck in the trash?” Yu enthralled, seeming to enjoy poking fun at Yosuke. 

Face flush with embarrassment, Yosuke flung a hand out to the middle of the table, fingers widely spread, acting as a form of shield. “It’s just an example. Lay off a little, man.” 

Yu rose a brow. “You said it.”

“Yeah. Whatever. Shut up.” Yosuke spat out. He panicked at his wording after he said it, realizing how rude it had sounded. Letting his hands fall to his side, he looked up to Yu, studying his face.

To Yosuke’s relief, Yu sat unperturbed, drinking his cocoa. 

This act brought attention to Yosuke’s own drink that he was graciously given. His mouth was still burning, but he decided to try and drink it anyway. Cautiously this time. 

It had lost heat, but the chocolate was sweet and there was a tint of mint hiding amongst the cocoa. Yosuke took a long, slow drink of his hot chocolate, gawking at Yu who appeared to be mimicking him. Once he placed it back down, he removed his eyes from the man in front of him. 

The pause in conversation brought back to light Yosuke’s pounding head, having gotten worse from the stress of socializing. A small sound of discomfort left his lungs, as he leaned his head onto the palm of his hand. Crunching his eyes closed, he attempted to will the headache away. 

“Are you alright?” Yu spoke in a quiet voice. 

Yosuke opened his eyes half way, making contact with Yu’s forehead. A twinge of pain coursed through the back of his eyes, forcing him to close them again before responding. “Um, sorta.”

Yu clicked his fingernails against the edge of his mug. “Do you have a headache or something?” He leaned down and cocked his head to one side, trying to study Yosuke’s expression for answers. 

“I think it’s from earlier. That table did a number on me.” Yosuke blurted out, his own voice startling him and sending a shiver of pain down his vocal chords.

The rhythm of fingernails came to an abrupt stop as Yu placed his hands onto his lap, and straightened himself in the booth. “Are you gonna be okay to drive back?”

Yosuke mumbled something directly into his hand. He didn’t want to put forth the effort of actually speaking, or rather doing so hurt too much. Instead of trying to formulate a response, he laid his head down onto the table, covering his face with his arms. 

Yu stood up to walk to the other side of the booth. “Give me your keys.” He tapped Yosuke on the head lightly. 

Bolting up at the sudden contact, Yosuke threw his gaze toward the unforeseen presence. Yu’s face was barely a few inches away from his own. “Whoa!” Yosuke pursed his lips together, ignoring the agony his head was in. “What? My-” He paused a moment, collecting the blurry unchanging expression on Yu’s face. “My keys?”

A pale hand was held out in front of Yosuke’s face, urging him to place something into the palm. “Yes.” 

Yosuke squeezed the bridge of his nose, groaning a bit. “Why, man?”

“You’re clearly in no condition to drive.”

“I’ll be fine.” Letting out a long shaky breath, Yosuke felt a prick of pain in his chest. 

Yu thrust his hand forward in a repetitive motion. “You’re not. Hand me your keys.” 

Yosuke attempted to take in another breath, but it only managed to reach half of his lung capacity. “Um.” He began to fumble around his pants pockets, till he grasped his keys in a quick jittery motion. 

Not giving him the chance to hide his keys, Yu yanked them out of Yosuke’s hand. “Thank you.” He sighed, and adjusted his mouth into a small smile. “Do you want to leave, Yosuke?”

Nodding very slowly, Yosuke held out his hand prompting Yu to wait for a second. Pulling his phone up to his face, Yosuke glared at the bright screen, trying to make out the blurry sight. Taking a minute or two to get what he needed, he handed Yu his phone. 

“Um, that’s just a gps to show you where my apartment is.” Yosuke mumbled as he brushed his hands all over his face, trying to ease any amount of pain he could. 

Yu chuckled a little. “Okay. Guess I get a bit of an early tour.” 

Rubbing the back of his head in a nervous gesture, Yosuke let out an awkward laugh. “Sorry man.” His face flustered a little bit, and he looked downward. 

The bench cushion shifted, causing Yosuke to look up, meeting strong silver eyes. He tried to shift his gaze away, but silver kept chasing his golden brown. Yosuke’s throat got tight, and his hands were balled into painful fists. Opening his mouth to speak, he got cut off before he could voice his thoughts. 

“No need to worry, Yosuke.” The bottom of Yu’s eyes scrunched up, signaling a smile. “Anyway, we should get going so you can rest.”

Before Yosuke could protest, Yu was already helping him out of the booth, strong hands on his shoulders.Yu’s fingers gripped firmly into his collar bones, but it didn’t necessarily hurt. Yosuke took a sharp inhale of breath, and watched Yu slap a few bills onto the table for a tip.

Turning to view Yosuke’s face, Yu softened his grip and lead him to the exit with one hand on Yosuke’s right shoulder. 

Yosuke’s chest was tight enough to make his rib cage audibly creak, or so he was convinced. Breathing was quickly becoming a chore, and his head was getting worse every step forward he took. He could feel his shoulders aggressively shake up and down, Yu’s grip got lighter in response, barely even touching him at that point. 

Having spaced out the process of Yu paying, they were suddenly in Yosuke’s car. “Um.” 

Yu was looking down, making adjustments to the seat, he hummed to signal that he was listening. 

Yosuke’s arm was covering his eyes as he leaned back in the passenger seat. “So,” He paused, attempted to take a deep breath, failed, then continued in a hoarse voice. “I’m sure I made a great first impression.” His tongue clicked at the end, out of frustration. 

“Honestly,” Yu sat up, and began to play with the steering wheel placement. “You seem very fun.” 

Yosuke choked on air in a small huff of a laugh. “You mean, I’m clumsy and stupid.” He turned his head toward the door. 

Leaning back and placing the keys in the ignition, Yu let out a small sigh. “Not at all.” He cranked the key, the car roaring to life. “I meant what I said genuinely.”

Taken aback, Yosuke turned to look in Yu’s direction, causing his head to spin and pound profusely. “Ouch.” He groaned as he held his head in his hands, a small embarrassed smile held on his lips. 

“Try not to move your head too much.” Yu teased as he began to back the car out of the stall. 

Yosuke relaxed into his seat once more, eyes closed, hands over his eyes. “You, probably need to get back to the laundromat.” He whispered in a raspy voice, riddled with pain. 

A hum so quiet Yosuke almost didn’t hear it left Yu’s throat. He didn’t add anything after that, instead, he simply drove. 

Yosuke laid in his seat, half asleep, shifting slightly as the car turned and adjusted. Yu was a shockingly smooth driver, and Yosuke was relieved, since he honestly didn’t want to have someone he barely knew drive his car. He was right though, there would have been no way Yosuke could have driven. He could barely keep his eyes open, let alone focus on the swirling colors that he only recognized as the road through context.

Half lidded eyes looked over at the driver, studying his profile as best they could. Silver hair lay lazily across a pair of focused eyes as they darted over the road ahead of them. Slim arms made very precise movements, white fabric tugging at the creased elbows. Gray slacks were drum tight against legs as they fine-tuned the speed. 

“You feeling any better?” Yu interrupted. 

Yosuke’s eyes darted away as soon as he heard him speak. “Uh. Maybe a little bit.” He swallowed past a giant lump in his throat. “I think I need water.” 

Looking over at Yosuke briefly, Yu spoke. “According to your phone, I think we’re almost there.” 

Lightly tanned hands fidgeted as Yosuke looked outside the window for a second, before realizing how much doing that hurt. He sighed and leaned his head against the headrest again, eyes forcing themselves closed as drowsiness began to take over.

\---

Why is my shoulder so cold? Was the very first thing Yosuke thought when his eyes fluttered awake. His hands went up to his face to try and wipe away the sleepy feeling still residing, a strange weight holding down his right shoulder. 

Yosuke looked to the right, greeted with a timid smile and silver lined eyes. He leapt back a bit, a pathetic shout leaving him, alarmed at the somewhat unfamiliar face in front of him. The cold hand that was on his shoulder quickly pulled away. 

“I don’t know which building your apartment is in.” Yu noted. 

Still trying to rub the sleep from his face, Yosuke mumbled something incoherent as he clumsily pulled himself out of the car, managing to slump into one of Yu’s shoulders. He slammed the door behind him, and began tugging at Yu’s shirt sleeve pointing lazily with his free hand. 

Yu looked down at him, a little perplexed at how drunk Yosuke was acting.The tugging on his left sleeve became insistent, so Yu let the bleary boy drag him along in his apparent drunken stupor. 

If keeping his eyes open was difficult, then walking was basically doing calculus while trying to juggle, as Yosuke was fumbling over his and Yu’s feet every few steps. In attempt to keep his head cool, Yosuke would let out a small chuckle, or try to shrug it off with a small joke. “I must have grabbed two of the same shoe this morning.” 

A small snort left Yu’s nostrils, as he practically carried the idiot up the stairs, Yosuke mumbling to himself along the way. As they approached the last step, Yosuke’s foot slipped into the crack between the concrete stairs, entirely losing grip of Yu’s sleeve. His shin hurtled itself into the sharp corner, a high pitched whimper careening out of Yosuke in turn. Stampedes of pain thrashed throughout his body starting from his abused shin all the way to his already pounding head. Limbs shaking, Yosuke was quick to observe his wrists, having used them to prevent himself from smashing his chin into the hard ground. They were thrashed, and bleeding more than they probably needed to. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Yosuke berated himself, as he attempted to sit himself on the edge of the assaulting stairway, his body shaking vigorously. 

Yu rushed to lean down next to him, his hands hovering over his back. He didn’t really know what to do, so he simply looked over the injuries that Yosuke received. His thin lips pursed into a hard line, as his jaw got tight. 

“I,” Yosuke held his wrists out, glaring at them, in attempt to get them to stop throbbing. “I’m sorry. God, how am I so clumsy?” His eyes were quickly filling with tears, from the pain, not the humiliation, he insisted. “Jesus, um, I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.” 

Thin, cold fingers lightly caressed below a profusely bleeding wrist, causing the owner to quickly jolt up and meet silver eyes. “Um.” It was all Yosuke could manage to say, his eyes quickly flitting away from view. 

“That looks like it hurt.” 

Yosuke’s mouth twitched, suddenly at a loss for words. His brown eyes bounced around to view anything that wasn’t the man kneeling next to him. The hand on his small wrist got tighter, yanking it closer to his face in order to closely inspect. 

“Wow, you really managed to hurt yourself.” Yu said, no humor in his voice, as he lowered Yosuke’s arm. “Which door is yours? Let’s get you inside.” He leaned forward a bit, trying to catch Yosuke’s eyes, but they were too busy bolting around the hall to get a focus on. 

An unsure smile tugged at Yosuke’s lips in response, and he began to push himself up from the concrete, gently tugging his arm back into himself. His knees were wobbly, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand, so he rushed toward the door to his living space, leaning into it violently. Looking up, vision incredibly foggy, he stared in Yu’s direction, urging him to come toward him. 

“Um, my key is on that lanyard.” Yosuke tilted his chin toward Yu’s hand that was still gripping the car keys. 

Yu walked slowly toward Yosuke, shuffling through the few keys on the lanyard. He held up the one he assumed was correct, since it was colored bright orange with black music notes on it. A slight hum and smile left Yosuke to notify that he was correct, as he leaned out of the way to allow Yu to unlock the door. 

A gush of warm air flew out of the door as it swung open, and only then did Yosuke realize just how freezing cold he was. His arms prickled with sudden goosebumps as he slipped in past Yu, b-lining it to the couch. Laying his head back against the worn fabric, he closed his eyes, his hands facing upward on his knees to prevent blood from getting on his pants. Every part of his body began to pound, and his hands felt like they were on fire from the sudden change of temperature. 

Shuffling feet made their way to the living room, stopping as soon as they arrived near the couch. Feeling a presence, Yosuke looked to his side through one eye, and intended on greeting him till he heard a sudden flurry of footsteps and shouts. 

“Yosuke, you’re just getting back ho-” The voice cut themselves off early as the owner took note of the stranger lingering over Yosuke. “Oh.” 

Yosuke let out a long sigh, and looked over fully toward Yu. “That is my roommate that you’ll be replacing.” He smiled half-heartedly. “I mean, if you decide to, anyway.”

Soft footsteps made their way toward the new face. Yu held out a thin hand, and smiled lightly. “Hello. I’m Yu Narukami, nice to make your acquaintance.” 

“Oh, I’m Chie Satonaka.” A short chuckle left her mouth, as she placed her small hand into his slightly calloused ones. “Are you a robot or something? No need to sound so stiff.” 

“Chie!” Yosuke shouted. “Don’t be rude. You have zero tact.” He managed to turn himself around to look over the back of the couch, glaring in her direction. His head pounded from the motion, causing him to smash his face into the cushion and moan. 

Yu found himself laughing quietly, as he gently pulled his hand away and into his pocket. “It’s okay. I know I speak oddly sometimes.” His eyes made their way toward Yosuke, who was beginning to morph with the couch. 

Chie pulled her arms into her chest, tapping her fingers lightly against her arm. “So, what brings you here at like,” She pulls her phone up to her face. “One-thirty in the morning?” 

Groaning louder, Yosuke pulled his face up from the cushion slightly, his voice muffled. “Is it really that late?” He flopped his head back into the couch. 

“I’m sorry to have kept you out so long on our first meeting, Yosuke.” Yu was leaning on the back of the couch, hand resting a mere inch from where Yosuke was buried. 

He turned his head to the side, staring at the pale hand next to his nose. Yosuke found himself glaring slightly from the instant pain moving produced, another muffled grunt escaping him. “‘S’fine.” 

A soft scuffling noise slunk into the carpet as Chie turned away from the two. “Well, I need to sleep.” A smile could be heard in her voice. “Nice meeting you, Yu.” She silently closed her door down the hallway before either of them could respond. 

Yosuke bit into his lip, as he spaced out toward Yu’s hand. His skin seemed soft-it was soft, from what Yosuke could recall from the contact earlier. The color was so white in complexion, he couldn’t help but wonder if Yu ever left the house, or was a weirdo that always wore gloves. A small puff of a laugh left him, as he managed to pull his eyes away and back into the cushion. 

A shift in the fabric caused Yosuke’s face to be almost completely covered, and he couldn’t breath, forcing him to slide his face down allowing his mouth a gap of air. The sound of cupboards opening and closing got Yosuke curious, deciding to cautiously move his head upward to glance toward the kitchen. A skinny figure was parading their way around the unfamiliar territory, clearly looking for something. Yosuke’s mouth went dry, as he smacked his lips together before speaking in a low tone. “Are you trying to find something?” 

“Cups.” Yu said almost before Yosuke finished asking. 

“Um, the cupboard to the right of the fridge.” 

A few extra thuds and the sound of running water filled Yosuke’s ears as he gave in to burying his face again. Moments later, the couch shifted, Yosuke slipping into the direction in response. He looked over through a break in the couch cushion, to view Yu slinking in next to him, two glasses of water in hand. 

“You said you were thirsty earlier.” A shy voice spoke, barely audible. 

Yosuke turned himself to completely face Yu, his head resting on the back of the couch, auburn hair strewn lazily over the side of his face. “Thanks.” He grasped for the cold cup of water, and took a slow sip of it. Bright silver eyes were piercing into Yosuke’s cheeks, he could almost feel the gaze. 

Yu coughed once, twice maybe, before he decided to speak up. “How are your wrists?”

Finishing off the water, and placing the cup in between his knees, Yosuke smiled weakly. “They’re throbbing to the point of making me want to cry.” A playful laugh erupted from his chest, and he looked down toward Yu’s neck, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. 

Yu shifted from side to side, his knees clicking into each other. “Your leg?” 

“Well, it hurts like a bitch, dunno if it’s bleeding though.” Yosuke placed a hand behind his head in a nervous gesture. “These, um,” He coughed on excess water left in his throat, a hand thrusting in front of his mouth as he tried to steady his breathing. A few loud moments passed before he could calm himself. “These, um, pants they’re, uh,too tight to check.” Shit that was the most awkward thing I could have possibly said. Maybe I should have kept coughing.

Rather than being offended, or disgusted, Yu let out a surprisingly hearty laugh, his body coiling over a little bit. 

Yosuke shrunk at the reaction, but a small rush of relief hit him like bricks, as his face turned a nice shade of crimson. “I,” He turned his head to look as far away from Yu as he could. “I don’t know why I said that.” 

The couch continued to shake as Yu was attempting to contain himself. “Yo-” His voice was shaking with laughter still, so he let out a long breath to finally even out his breathing. “Yosuke, you crack me up.” A wide smile found Yu’s lips. 

Turning to face him in response to what Yu said, Yosuke looked over to see the uncharacteristically large smile.He found himself reciprocating despite himself. Rocking his knee to pull it onto the couch, Yosuke went to speak, only to click his teeth together instead. Yu was still smiling at him, eyes twinkling a little bit in his direction. He found himself biting at his lip again, as Yosuke bolted his eyes downward, only to look up again to find that Yu’s face had gone blank, his usual expression. 

Loud creeks filled the room’s silence, as the young man next to Yosuke was rocking his knee up and down for a moment, only to stop on a dime seconds later. Yosuke slunk the left side of his face further into the couch cushion, his cheek squishing into a silly expression. He swallowed. “You probably want to get home.” 

“Let me see your wrists.” Yu deadpanned. 

Yosuke’s hands curled into tight fists at the sudden demand. “What?” His rib cage began to ache, and his spine was curling into itself. 

Skinny hands slinked their way over into Yosuke’s bubble, lightly placing them on top of sun kissed skin. They flipped Yosuke’s hand over so that his wrist was visible. Though he tried to pull back, Yu’s fingers gripped hard enough to stop him. “This needs taken care of, so it won’t get infected.” Yu’s eyes faced toward the other hand, which was shakingly starting to hide itself into dark skinny jeans. “Not to mention, I bet a pretty nasty bruise is starting to form on your leg.” Slim fingers hovered over the offended leg, but refused to touch without permission. 

An embarrassing squawk escaped Yosuke as he briskly straightened himself, his free hand covered itself underneath his leg. His chest felt like a python was harshly squeezing him, ready to consume any given chance. “Hey,” Yosuke’s vocal cords felt tight, and speaking was painful, but he desperately needed to say something. “Please, let go.” His arms were so stiff it hurt, and he could practically taste venom on his tongue at his own words. 

The grip on his wrist loosened, and pulled away in one fluid motion. “Oh, sorry.” A voice the stark opposite of the demanding one seconds before. 

Leaping up from the couch, knocking his glass onto the floor and completely ignoring the flurry of colors and insane nausea, Yosuke yanked his arms behind his back. His breathe caught in the center of his lungs, as he attempted to apologize for his sudden change in behavior. 

Yu held a hand up in the air. “I didn’t mean to get into your personal space.” His face was curled into a strange, unreadable expression, hair distorting most of it. 

“Uh,” Yosuke nearly threw up from the sensation of using his voice. “Sorry.” He curled his fingernails into his arm, breaking skin. “You can sleep,” A small cough. “On the couch.” Twirling around and briskly walking around the couch and toward the hall, Yosuke throw out a few extra words. “G’night.” 

Closing his bedroom door as fast, but as silent as he could, Yosuke slid down the back of it, flopping haphazardly onto the old carpet. His hands clasped around his face, aggressively pulling at his cheeks. He let out a small whimper before a tear strewn down his twitching face, head in so much pain that he could only see white. Knees pulled in close together, Yosuke finally let out an actual sob as he hid his face into his legs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY HELL I MADE THIS CHAPTER SO LONG. 
> 
> So I may or may not be posting this without my beta reader going over it first. I figured it'd been so long since I updated, that I'd toss it up anyway. I will probably release the updated edited version this week, but here you go anyway! <3
> 
> Honestly, the end of this chapter got a little real for me, as I'm basing Yosuke's anxiety and how he reacts to things off of my own experiences. Don't worry, I'll update much faster than last time, so you guys can find out if he's okay. ;^;
> 
> Oh, and yes, I use Yu Narukami, not Souji Seta. Sorry if you have a different preference. OH ALSO, I get that Yu is canonically taller than Yosuke (from what my research tells me?) but hey, this is an AU and they're in their twenties, so I took liberties. Yosuke got taller. You're welcome. :)


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